Hard-line lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party(DP) have introduced a bill calling for an independent counsel investigation into allegations surrounding first lady Kim Keon-hee.
Rep. Kim Yong-min on Monday introduced the bill that was cosponsored by 12 others, including a number of first-term DP members as well as independent lawmaker Min Hyung-bae, formerly of the DP.
Kim said the prosecution is failing to properly investigate the president’s family and therefore appointing a politically-neutral independent counsel is necessary to expose the truth.
Such allegations involve stock price manipulation and falsified academic credentials on job applications.
The DP’s chief deputy floor leader, Jin Sung-joon, said on Tuesday that there is great concern within the party that a proper probe will not be conducted if it is left to the prosecution and police.
He even mentioned to the possible adoption of the independent counsel probe bill as a part of the party platform.
Meanwhile the ruling People Power Party has slammed the bill as a political offensive. In a social media post on Tuesday, floor leader Kweong Seong-dong said the allegations mentioned by the DP were already used for mudslinging during the presidential election and accused the DP of trying to distract the public from the ongoing investigation into its own lawmaker, Lee Jae-myung, and his wife.
Source: KBS World Radio